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JULY 24,1997 AUGUSTA FOCUS
12A
NFL preseason set to kickoff a season of change for many teams
Finally, the NFL season is upon
us. Well...almost! At this point of
the hot, humid, and boring sum
mer sports season (unless you love
the made for television X-Games
nonsense), even the start of the
pro league’s pre-season dress re
hearsal has a certain appeal. The
high-priced rookies that have
been talked about as the saviors
and missing pieces to the puzzle
for many franchises’ dreams for
reaching the Super Bowl, will fi
nally get an opportunity to prove
themselves, playing with the big
boys who play for pay. NFL insid
ers and analysts will now begin to
provide provocative reports to the
millions of rabid football fans
across America on the gridders
who are definitely for real (watch
out for Atlanta rookie RB Byron
Hanspard from Texas T~ch), and
those first-year players who may
end up being major disappoint
ments. Hopefully, “All-Every
thing” Tackle Orlando Pace from
Ohio State (selected by the St.
Louis Rams with the top-pick of
April’s NFL Draft), will sign the
ASU names Tuell as head
men’s haskethall coach
Gary Tuell has been named as
the new head men’s basketball
coach at Augusta State Univer
sity, announced Clint Bryant, di
rector of athletics.
He becomes the fourth head
coach in Augusta State’s 32-year
basketball history, following
~ Bryant who stepped down this
- past May after nine seasons, Neil
Cody, and Marvin Vanover.
~ Tuell, 47, comes to Augusta
- State from S. Thomas Univer
sity, a National Association of In
~ tercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Di
. vision II Institution located in
. North Miami, Fla. Over five sea
, sons at St. Thomas, Tuell’s teams
| went 88-76 with three Florida Sun
, Conference championships and
. one second-place finish. Twice, in
, 1993-94 and 1996-97, his teams
:; advanced to the NAIA Division I 1
i National Tournament.
; His best season, record-wise,
{ was his first when St. Thomas
{ went 20 -8, setting a school record
y of 196 -116, a .628 winning per
' centage while graduating 100 per
~cent of his players. His teams
. have won six conference champi
i onships, four region champion
| ships, and five conference tour
nament championships while
compiling an 8 - 4 record in four
, national tournament appear
. ances. His .628 winning percent
' age places him 44th on the NCAA
. Division II list of winningest ac
. tive coaches.
'~ “I think it's a great opportu
' nity,” said Tuell. “Augusta State
' is a beautiful university in a beau
' tiful location with a tremendous
faculty and staff, and great ad
' ministrative leadership.”
. “To be a part of the Augusta
. State family is very exciting to
. me,” he said. “I'm looking forward
' to working under Clint Bryant,
. who is someone I have tremen
. dous respect for.”
. Tuell has also served as head
- freshman coach at the Univer
sity of Louisville from 1970 - 73,
' volunteer assistant coach at Lou
' isville from 1982 - 85, and re
stricted earnings coach at the
' University of Miami from 1987 -
' 92. During the 1987 - 88 season,
' Tuell worked alongside Bryant,
Winn-Dixie declares
annual dividend increase
JACKSONVILLE
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. today
increased its cash dividends' for
the 654th consecutive year. The
new dividend rate of eight and
one-half cents per share per
month or $1.02 annually repre
sents a 6,25 percent increase over
the previous rate of eight cents
per share per month or 96¢ annu
ally, ag adjusted for a two-for-one
stock split in November, 1995.
“We are pleased to increase our
dividend and continue our New
York Stock Exchange record of 54
vears of consecutive dividend in
creases,” Mr. A. Dano Davis,
hairman, announced.
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Timeout
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franchise soon, to avoid missing
any more training camp time and
falling into the dreaded “flop” cat
egory. At this point Pace and his
famous agents (Kevin and Carl
Poston), are standing firm and
are refusing to accept the multi
million dollar deal the Rams have
placed on the table. New Head
who was an assistant coach for
Hurricanes just prior to coming
to Augusta State.
“lam pleased with the selection
of our new men’s basketball
coach,” said Augusta State presi
dent Dr. William A. Bloedworth
Jr. “The search was well-orga
nized and inclusive. As an insti
tution, we were honored by the
extraordinary number and cali
bre of applicants. The quality of
our five finalists was a testimony
to the attractiveness of Augusta
State University and the Augusta
community, and to Bryant’s na
tional reputation in intercolle
giate athletics.”
Dr. Bloodworth added, “In Gary
Tuell, we will have a coach with a
proven record on the court, a com
mitment to athletes as students,
and a philosophy of teaching and
coaching that is fully compatible
with the mission of Augusta State
University. Coach Tuell is an ex
cellent choice to extend the legacy
of Jaguar basketball established
by Marvin Vanover, Neil Cody
and Clint Bryant.
Bryant echoed the words of Dr.
Bloodworth. “I'd like to commend
the search committee on narrow
ing down an enormous number of
candidates and for their dedica
tion and hard work through the
interview process,” saia Bryant.
“We are very excited about nam
ing Gary Tuell as our head men'’s
basketball coach,” said Bryant,
adding, “He is a person of great
commitment, character, and pas
sion. We sincerely believe that
coach Tuell possesses all the at
tributes that we set out to find in
naming our new coach.”
“His commitment to winning
and player development is very
well documented in what has been
a successful career,” added
Bryant.
Tuell, who authored Above the
Rim, a book detailing the history
of Louisville basketball, takes
over a team that returns eight
lettermen and four staters from
their 1996 - 97 squad that went 8
-19. Leading the returnsis Oliver
Ottley Jr., who led all freshmen
in the NCAA Division II in scor
ing with an 18.3 average.
The board of directors declared
a regular monthly dividend of
eight and one-half cents per share
on the common stock of Winn-
Dixie Stores, Inc. payable on Au
gust 1, September 2 and October
1, 1997, to shareholders of record
at the close of business July 15,
August 156 and September 15,
1997.
Winn-Dixieisone ofthe nation’s
luxost supermarket retailers
with more than 1,180 stores in 14
states and in the Bahamas, The
Charlotte division operates 181
stores in North Carolina, South
g:.rolinn, Tennessee and Geor-
Sports
Coach Dick Vermeil has assured
area fans in St. Louis “not to
worry.” A deal with Pace and the
Rams will happen, according to
Vermeil. The question is when
“Dickie”baby...when? Ahyes, this
story should sound very familiar
to Carolina Panther fans across
Georgia-Carolina. These are the
same “Poston Brothers” who rep
resented then rookie RB
Tshimanga (Tim) Biakabutuka
(Michigan product who sustained
amajor knee injury in '96) during
his lengthy contract battle with
hard-nosed Carolina GM Bill
Polian and the Panthers top brass.
It seems that these days, any talk
of NFL action in July and August
always seems to center around
holdouts, QB controversies, and
infamous fan polls regarding
which head coaches are on the
proverbial hot-seat to win this
season—or else.
While touching on the subject
of NFL head honchos, remember
that a grand total of ten (some
what new faces) will be seen pa
trolling the sidelines for both AFC
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and NFC franchises this season.
Without a doubt it appears the
revolving door of the NFL is alive
and well!) Some of the more inter
esting coaching stories this sea
son, besides 60-year-old Vermeil’s
emergence from his time capsule,
revolve around the Saints, 49ers,
and New York Jets. All three
teams had horrible seasons last
year, so management went shop
ping, for high price coaching tal
ent instead of a boatload of free
agent players. The technique of
simply spending money on play
ers, made famous by the Atlanta
Falcons, and a few other teams,
has proven over time to be too
expensive, and too unproductive.
So it’s back to the old proven
method...hard work and building
through the draft.
In New York, Parcells returns
to the Meadowlands with the
power to hire and fire. During his
last trip through Giants Stadium,
Giants GM George Young refused
to give “the Big Tuna” the ulti
mate power and control Parcells
coveted. Bill’'sattempt to turn the
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tide with the J:ts is a massive
undertaking, but if anyone can
right the ship in Gotham, it’s
Parcells. In New Orleans, former
Bears coach and TV analyst Mike
Ditka returns to the NFC wars.
“Iron Mike” has been busy clean
ing house in the Big Easy, but the
Saints still lack the talent, expe
rience, or attitude to seriously
compete with San Francisco,
Carolina, or the Super Dome. Out
west, the Niners have sent former
franchise brain Bill Walsh pack
ing, along with former head man
George Seiffert. New Niners Head
Coach Steve Mariucci, fresh from
the Stanford Cardinal football
program, won't have to worry
about second-guessers peeking
over his shoulder (that is unless
San Francisco starts the season
in a less than super hyper-drive
mode!). Wit All-World Wide Re
ceiver still in the fold along with
QB Steve Young, Mariucci should
be able to get a little sleep during
the 16-week regular season. All-
Pro Cornerback Rod Woodson’s
defection from Pittsburgh to the
49ers car » should help bolster
the defen-ive unit as well. Look
for San Francisco to rein supreme
in the NFC West. Quite simply,
this Niners team is playing for
pride and respect in '97.
Football fans, it’s time to re
joice. NFL action is on the air.
Why not head out to Publix this
weekend, stock up on the Pepsi,
cheese whiz and crackers, send
the kids to Grandma’s house,
give the wife a kiss (and the
credit cards), and send her to
the mall for a well-deserved
shopping spree, while you sit
back in the Lazy-Boy and enjoy
the start of yet another “wild
and wacky” NFL preseason. A
preseason that should be filled
with lots of strange and familiar
faces in new places around the
league. Augusta, are you “ready”
for football?
Tony Cornish Jr. is a freelance
sports columnist and host of
Sports Talk Live with Tony C!
aired weeknights at 10 p.m., ex
clusively on WBEK-TV.
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